Work with DNA is central to much current research in the biological sciences and to developments in modern biotechnology. There is growing public awareness of DNA technologies, their current and potential applications and the wider issues that they engender.
The science upon which these technologies are founded, and the wider concerns associated with them, feature in nearly every UK course specification in biology or science. Surveys have repeatedly shown support for the inclusion of modern DNA technology in the science curriculum from both parents and pupils alike [1, 2].
Despite the incorporation of the basic concepts of genetic modification into both the National Curriculum of England and Wales [3] and more widely for well over a decade, pupils' understanding of modern genetics generally remains poor [4, 5].